Machine for stamping metal coffins.



Patented May 2|, I90

[3.M. BRENNAN. MACHINE FOR STAMPING METAL COFFINS. (Appiication filed May 28, 1900.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

N0. 674,647. Patented May 2|, l90l.

* C. M. BRENNAN.

MACHJNE ESE-STAMPING METAL COFFINS.

(Application filed May 28, 1900.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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No. 674,647. Patented May 2|, 190i. 0. m. BRENNAN.

MACHINE FOR STAMPING METAL COFFINS.

(Application filed may 28, 1900; "Weld 3 Sheets-Sheet s.

9 at Q C?/ l I @4 4 ti l I H I H! @M G72 ear/"Z68 'jifli'eimaw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES M. DRENNAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR TO AMERI- CAN METAL CASKET COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE AND KITTERY, MAINE.

MACHINE FOR STAMPING METAL COFFINS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,647, dated May 21, 1901.

Application filed May 28, 1900. Serial No. 18,231. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: right hand. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in Be it known that I, CHARLES M. DRENNAN, top plan. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken a citizen of the United States, and a resident on-the line 4 4, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massavertical cross-section taken on the line 5 5, 5 chusetts, have invented an Improvement in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an enlarged broken detail,

Machines for Stamping or Forming Metal in central vertical section,through the oper- Coffins, of which the following description, in ating-cylinder and connected parts.

connection with the accompanying drawings, 7 I have discovered that the main reason why is a specification, like letters on the drawings work of this character has not been success- IO representing like parts. ful heretofore except for the very simplest Many attempts have been made to form plain patterns has been because the metal pressed sheet-metal coffins and like objects; when pressed to the form of the dies has inbut heretofore it has been found impossible variably relaxed or recovered more or less of to establish a great industry in this line beits original shape, thereby destroying the 15 cause of the peculiar difficulties attendant sharpness of figure essentialto this work and 6 upon pressing sheet metal into forms of suffirendering the product comparatively worthcient sharpness and exactness to present an less on the market, and I have discovered artistic appearance at all resembling carving that the main cause of this difficulty has reor similar artistic work in wood. sided in the fact that the means employed 20 My present invention has for its object the have given the blows slowlyas, for example, provision of a press or machine capable of would be the case in a hydraulic press. On forming ornamental sheet-metal cofliins and the other hand, I have also found that a press like objects having all the requisites of pernecessarily of the enormous size and weight manently sharp lines and rigid formation required for such large stampings if con- 25 that this art requires, as above explained. 'structed along the lines of the ordinary press In carrying out my invention I form the was quickly self-destructive and presented a sides and ends and top and bottom with as series of special problems to overcome. great depth of heading or other relief work On a suitable base A, preferably made in a as may be desired, making the same out of single casting, as shown, I provide a bed- 0 plain sheets of metal, not by pressure analoplate a, herein shown as formed by the top gous to squeezing or such as is given by a of said base, and on this bed-plate is rigidly relatively slow movement, but by a quick secured the female die. On each end of the sharp striking blow given in such a manner base A is rigidly mounted a column or pillar as to be a dead-blow without rebound, and I A, which together support at their upper 5 have found that by this means I am enabled ends a cross-beam A of proper shape and 8 to prevent the injurious effects of that relaxaconstruction to sustain a cylinder a tion of the metal which has been found to Referring more particularly to Fig. 6, it ensue when the pressure has been delivered will be seen that at the middle or crown part by an ordinary press such as has heretofore of the cross-beam A I provide a vertical cy- 40 been employed in working sheet metal, and lindrical opening a larger in diameter than my invention resides in a means whereby the the outside diameter of the cylinder a and above objects are obtained. provide on the latteran annular flange or The constructional details of the preferred boss 01, at its lower end and another flange a embodiment of my invention as herein intermediate its ends, the flange a being 5 shown will be fully explained in the course larger than the opening a and the flange a 5 of the following description, reference being being the same size or slightly smaller than had to the accompanying drawings. said opening. This construction is provided In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevato permit the cylinder to be passed endwise tion thereof,-partly broken away. Fig. 2isa up through the opening a into position, as

50 side elevation looking at Fig. 1 from the shown, whereupon two semicircular blocks or halves of a retaining-ring a are secured in place beneath the flange or rib a and proper fastenings are secured, all rigidly securing the cylinderin place, but permitting of quick adjustment or removal thereof, if required. Within the cylinder is mounted a plunger or piston, whose head a is provided with suitable packing a and coiled springs a and is secured at 01, to a stem or rod (1 which passes through a suitable gland a, contained in a head a, secured to the lower end of the cylinder inclosing the same, said rod 0. serving to support and raise the male-die carrier A which, it will be understood, is very large and exceedingly heavy, especially taken in connection with the male die 0, which is secured on the under side thereof. This diecarrier operates on ways a at its opposite ends, projecting from the columns A.

As already explained, it is imperative that the two dies should come together with extreme precision in order that the lines may be sharply defined and also to prevent shearing of the metal and avoid other complications, and yet it is also necessary that the movable die should be permitted to fall freely thereon the greater part of its extent, and accordingly I have provided means whereby the guides or ways at may be caused to approach each other very slightly at their lower portions and may be thus adjusted to take up all wear, similar means of adjustmentbeing pro-.

vided in connection with each column and being shown in detail at the right of Fig. l, where it will be seen that'a rib or lug a is provided on the base, and the heavy bolt 01 passes through the bifurcated lower end of the column, being retained in adjustment by a set-screw or entering the head thereof, said bolt operating in the nut a preferably let into the inner side of the lug a", and also operating against the opposite sideof the bifurcated end of the column. By this means this device, although extremely heavy, may be adjusted with extreme accuracy.

Referring now more particularly to the piston and connected mechanism, it will be seen that I provide at the top of the cylindera series of openings at to permit of the free passage of air, and at the lower end of the cylinder I provide an inlet a, connecting with a two-way valve (1 and a large opening or, connecting with a on t-otf or throttle valve e The valve has an outlet-port a in its casing opening freely to the outer air and is preferahly conical in shape and normally held by springs (1, in closed position. The valve is connected with any suitable source of compressed air or steam, preferably the former, by an inlet-port 01, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6) and is operated by means of a rock shaft or lever (1 connected at its inner end by a link 01 and lever (r to the valve and at its outer end to the operating-handle n The valve (1 is similarly operated bya rockshaft a provided at its inner end with a lever a, joined by a pin-and-slot connection 05 to the projecting valve-stem of the slide or throttle valve (1/ said rock-shaft having an operating-handle a at its outer end. The die a, is provided with a clamping-ring a, secured rigidly by any suitable means a to the die, so as to retain as immovably as possible the edges of the sheet metal 64 to be formed.

It has heretofore been customary to clamp the sheet metal by means of a clamp which was carried by the movable die; but where a quick sharp blowis given, as it is in the present machine, such a clamp is ineffective, and it becomes necessary to retain the sheet metal at its edges in the manner shown.

The stationary or female die has a clamping ring mounted around its periphery in clamping contact with the edges of the sheet metal at all points around the opening of said female die, so that when the male die descends it strikes against the sheet metal, which is suspended or held taut over the central opening of the female die, and forces said metal with an instantaneous dead-blow sharply against the edges and forming con tour of the two dies, and the two provisions of having the metal held unyieldingly at its edges and the blow being also an unyielding or dead blow cooperate to causethe metal to stretch and form throughout its area rather than to crimp and contract it, as would be the case if the edges were held by a clamp carried by the movable die; also, because of the dead-blow and great weight of the following parts I have found it necessary to provide a certain freedom of movement at the point of connection of the piston-rod with the die-carrier, the piston-rod being for this purpose reduced in size at a, and the head (1- thereof is slotted at e to receive looselya transverse pin (1 the bottom of the slot a, formed in the carrier to receive said head, being provided with a compressible substance e to relieve the shock of the slight rebound-which is inevitable when the dies come together.

Having provided the machine, as above explained, its operation is as follows: Supposing that the top of the casket is to be struck up, the die in such case being of the pattern shown, the die 0, is accurately alined with the die a by shifting the standards A to such minute degrees as may be necessary, the guides a being brought together slightly at their lower ends, so as to make it absolutely 'certain that when the die and die-carrier are 'by releasing the compressed air which has been holding up-the piston and at the same time permitting all the air contained in the cylinder beneath the piston to rush out rap- IIO idly and allow the die a and die-carrier to fall suddenly without hindrance, thereby insuring a sharp heavy dead blow without any retarding influence whatever. The result of this blow is that the metal is stretched not by a molding or working pressure, such as is given by a slow movement, which I have termed a squeezing movement, but is stretched suddenly and quickly,with the effect of hardening or perhaps crystallizing the metal into the resulting shape, there being no tendency in the metal to recover its original shape. I regardthis discovery as a most important part of my invention, and it is with the purpose of attaining this object that I have invented the machine described, it being the object of this machine to form the large sheet of metal by instantaneous movement. The sudden terrific blow given by the following die and carrier sets the metal in sharp lines, and if there should be any indefiniteness whatever because of the configuration of the pattern or because of the extreme depth of the pattern a second similar blow will set and harden it in sharp lines as desired, the binding-ring serving .to retain the upper edge of the metal and cause the latter to be pulled down or spread thinly over all the sharp corners and following the configurations of the die. The blow struck is extremely severe and would shatter the piston connections were it not for the slight yielding provision made at the connection of the rod with the carrier, this connection serving to take up the momentum of the piston and rod and the reaction of the die-carrier. By reason of the large area of inlet through the port and the large area of outlet at the bottom of the cylinder the rapid blow of the die and carrier is free from any cushioning efiect or retarding influence from above, and another important feature resides in what I call the dead-blow. I mean by this term a blow which is without any influence for driving or retarding from steam or compressed air or other motive power.

I am aware that there have been a great many forms-and kinds of presses; but so far as I am aware none of these have proceeded on the principle above explained, and none of them have been capable of producing the exact resemblance to Wood carving and molding, which it is the primary object of my invention to secure by reason of the sharp accurately-defined lines and died surface.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. A machine of the kind described, comprising a bed-plate for supporting a die, a movable carrier for supporting a complementary die, guides for said carrier, means located at and acting solely on the lower ends of said guides for bringing said dies into exact alinement at the point of their approach to each other, means at the upper ends of said guides for maintaining the said ends thereof separated and uninfluenced by said alining means, a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, a piston-rod extending from said piston and connected to said carrier, means for admitting compressed air or steam for lifting said piston and carrier, and means for permitting said carrier and movable die to fall and give a dead-blow on the metal held by said stationary die.

2. A machine of the kind described, comprising a bed-plate carrying a stationary die, side guide-pillars, a movable die and die-carrier guided by said pillars, and means mounted on the upper ends of said pillars for raising said die and die-carrier, said pillars at their lower ends being adjustable toward said stationary die, and at their upper ends being held rigidly apart and independent of the said adjustability of their lower ends.

3. A machine of the kind described, containing a base-plate for supporting astationary die, side pillars, a die-carrier and movable die guided by said side pillars, a crossbeam connecting the upper ends of said pillars, a cylinder carried by said cross-beam, a

piston contained in said cylinder, a pistonrod extending from said piston to said carrier and provided with a connection thereat permitting relative movement, means at the upper end of said piston permitting the unrestrained passage of air, and means at the lower end of said cylinder for permitting the entrance of compressed air or steam for raising the piston and for permitting the unrestrained escape of said air or steam to allow the carrier and die to fall and give a deadblow on the sheet metal supported, by said stationary die, the steam-outlet being larger than the steam-inlet.

4:. In a machine of the kind described, containing a stationary die, a movable die and carrier therefor, a frame for said parts, said frame including a cross-beam having a vertical cylindrical opening therein, and a cylinder, said cylinder having adjacent to one end opposite flanges, one of said flanges having a diameter small enough to permit it to pass through the opening in said beam, and a sustaining-ring adapted to rest on the top end of said opening and engage beneath the adjacent flange of said cylinder for supporting the latter in mounted position on said beam, a piston and piston-rod operating in said cylinder and connected to said carrier, and means for operating the same.

5. A machine of the kind described, containing a stationary die, a movable die and a carrier therefor, aframe for guiding said movable die and carrier, and a cylinder mounted vertically in said frame about said die-carrier, said cylinder having a closed upper end and a series of radial openings adjacent said closed upper end for permitting the unrestrained passage of air in and out as required, and having its lower end closed and provided with a passage for the entrance of compressed air or steam, a valve controlling said entrance, and

IIO

a second passage of large area sufficient to permit the unrestrained outflow of said air or steam and enable the movable die to give a dead-blow uninfluenced by the outflowingsteam, a valve controlling the same, a piston in said cylinder, and a rod connecting said piston and said carrier.

6. A machine of the kind described, comprising a baseplate and a stationary die mounted thereon, said die being provided on its upper side with a clamping-ring for retaining a sheet of metal clamped at its edges to said stationary die, and means cooperating with said ring and said die for clamping the ring in immovable holding engagement with said die, a frame, a movable die and carrier guided in said frame, a cylinder mounted vertically in said frame above said carrier, a piston and piston-rod operating in said cylinder and connected to said carrier, means for raising said piston and connected parts, and means permitting but not retarding the fall of said piston, rod, carrier and movable die to give a dead-blow on the sheet of metal retained between said ring and stationary die.

7. In a machine of the kind described, a female die, a stationary support for said die, a clamping-ring having an opening of greater area than the area of the opening in said dies, and adapted to clamp the sheet metal outside the opening of said die and hold said metal in fixed position, a male die, a carrier therefor, guiding means for said carrier, means to lift said carrier and male die, and to enable said carrier and die to drop with a dead-blow, and meet the clamped sheet metal, and form it into the female die.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES M. DRENNAN.

Witnesses:

AUGUSTA E. DEAN, GEO. W. GREGORY. 

